by Victoria K.

Created on: May 20, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

As a military wife, any holiday that celebrates love for our country is a big day. It is always fun to see red, white and blue painted around the city and families showing how proud they are to be American. It makes me realize how lucky I am to be a part of the greatest nation in the world.

That's why when my husband was stationed in Germany, I knew I was walking into a different world. I kept thinking about the things I have seen on television and how people from other countries perceived Americans. I was terrified.

My husband was sent to Iraq shortly after we arrived in Germany. There I was, alone and American in a foreign country. By the time the 4th of July rolled around, I was starting to get used to the German customs and the locals. But I was still unsure as to what it would be like. How do Americans celebrate their Independance Day when they aren't even in the right country? I figured I would be silently celebrating, maybe the base would have a small get together or something. But I didn't think it would be a big day because we were in another country and they obviously didn't celebrate OUR Independance.

Boy, was I wrong. Granted, the Germans do not necessarily celebrate our freedom nor our holiday, but they are extremely friendly and for the most part, they are more than happy to take part in our celebration. I was pleasantly surprised when my German friend, Maike, took me to a restaurant with her German friends. She explained to them what this day meant to me and next thing I knew, the waiter was announcing it to the entire place. All I could hear was "Prost!" which is "Cheers" in German. They were happy to help me celebrate. I couldn't believe it.

But that wasn't the end. My friend took me to downtown Frankfurt and we walked around the area near the pubs and the restaurants. I am not sure exactly what was said, but I knew she was telling people walking by that I was her "American friend" and that today I am celebrating something special. Complete strangers raised their glasses to me. One guy even followed us around for a while telling me how much he "loves America". It was awesome.

At the end of the night, we went back to the base and told me she had something to show me. We went to the top of a hill near the commissary (grocery store) and there were tons of people up there already, just waiting. When I asked what was going on she told me "Just wait". I couldn't believe it when the entire city below us became filled with pops and bright blasting fireworks. It was spectacular. It was touching to realize that there were people from another country who were willing to help us celebrate such a special day. Even though I knew that the locals were used to celebrating some of the American holidays, it was a memory I would never forget.

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